Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman; story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth
Directed by Michel Gondry
Focus Features
2004
Rating:


Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman goes from merely bending minds to breaking hearts in what may be the most complex screwball romantic comedy ever made. Joel (Jim Carrey) retreats into the recesses of his own mind when he decides to have his relationship with Clementine (Kate Winslet) erased by low-fi, questionable doctors (Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood), only to discover that he desperately needs to retain the memory of her. Carrey digs deep to give his most restrained and lovable performance to date while Winslet lets loose to become the firebrand men like Joel think will save them. Michel Gondry's direction and Ellen Kuras' cinematography are a feast of technical pyrotechnics and whimsy. But it's the fundamental theme that all memories — especially the painful ones — contain a beauty that makes them worth remembering that finally makes "Eternal Sunshine" the best film of 2004.

Posted Saturday, April 16, 2005

Link to this review:
http://filmzeus.pressbin.com/film/eternal.sunshine.of.the.spotless.mind